269: Chapter 269 Paying to be a grandson? Impossible!

The old man's eyes were half-closed, his head nodding as if he might fall back asleep at any moment.

"Young man, you get what you pay for."

"The longer the incense, the higher the smoke goes."

"The higher the smoke, the clearer the... cough, ancestors up there can see."

"If you get something only a few inches short, the ancestors have to look down. If they have presbyopia and miss it, won't this sacrifice be for nothing?"

Listening to this logic full of holes, Chen You was rapidly calculating in his mind.

He could basically confirm that he had triggered a hidden quest.

Otherwise, with this level of consumption, what normal player could afford it?

Since a ten-meter upper limit was given, it meant that ten meters was the only key to unlocking the highest difficulty and the highest rewards.

If he stopped now, wouldn't everything he bought before be a waste?

It was like buying a top-tier supercar and then refusing to add gasoline to save money, leaving you to push it along.

"I'll buy it. Max it out for me."

The old man's originally cloudy eyes instantly lit up as he took out a long wooden box from behind the counter.

The surface of the wooden box was covered with dark red engravings.

The old man pressed one end of the box and slowly pulled it open.

Long sticks of incense, dark gold throughout and about the thickness of an adult's arm, were revealed.

This thing didn't look like incense; it looked more like a spear painted with gold lacquer.

The surface of the long incense was covered with dense grooves, with dark gold liquid flowing inside.

The old man took one out and stood it on the ground.

"Rise."

He gave a light shout.

The dark gold incense began to slowly extend.

Click.

Click.

A rhythmic sound like clashing metal echoed in the dim shop.

Three meters.

Five meters.

Finally, the top of the incense hit the shop's roof beam with a thud.

"Ten meters, exactly."

Chen You watched silently, thinking: This thing even comes with magic tricks?

The old man retracted the incense, put it back into the wooden box, and handed it to Chen You.

"It's telescopic, easy to carry."

"The base price for ten sticks is 100, plus another 100 for each meter of length. That's 1,100 gold coins in total."

Chen You paid directly, and the Jade Gold Incense box fell into his backpack.

【Heaven-Reaching Jade Gold Incense (Unique Custom Edition)】

【Description: A sacrificial wonder ten meters in length, possessing the special power to communicate with the underworld and summon ancestral spirits.】

【Evaluation: If your ancestors still don't react to this, it's suggested you open the coffin and perform an autopsy directly.】

Chen You looked at the description and nodded with satisfaction.

This money should have been well-spent; now to see the effect.

He turned around, left the shop, and mounted Big White Rabbit.

Back at the Meng De's Mansion, City Lord Meng had already been waiting in the main hall for a long time.

He had changed into a dark green sacrificial robe, with a blood-red jade pendant hanging from his waist.

Cai Wenjuan stood by his side, while Du Chedi sat in a wheelchair; all three had solemn expressions.

There was also a little girl nearby, playing with something.

It was Meng Xiao, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

As a member of the Meng Family bloodline, she had appeared once again.

"Adventurer, have the offerings been prepared?"

City Lord Meng asked.

Chen You didn't waste words and gave a grand wave of his hand.

Clatter.

Piles of offerings scattered onto the ground.

City Lord Meng's eyes twitched as he looked at the top-tier materials covering the floor.

Although he was the Meng De, ancestor worship was usually just a formality.

After all, the Meng Family's Tomb of Thousand Lights had been cursed for so many years that no one expected any real results from the sacrifices.

"Adven—Brother Chen, the grade of these items... seems ridiculously high?"

City Lord Meng's voice carried a hint of trembling.

As the Meng De of Thousand Light City, he had seen many good things, but the sight before him was simply blinding.

The usual three livestock used for sacrifices were just ordinary pigs, cattle, and sheep.

What Chen You brought out were spirit beasts surrounded by a faint mist.

That "pig" even had a pair of small tusks; it clearly wasn't something to be trifled with.

Ordinary fresh fruits were just for freshness.

What Chen You brought out were spirit fruits with skins shimmering like jewels; a single breath of the fragrance filling the air was enough to make one feel refreshed.

Even the most inconspicuous joss paper was damn well made from golden silkworm silk mixed with mithril.

These weren't just offerings.

This was like moving a small treasury directly here.

"City Lord Meng."

Chen You spoke calmly, his tone flat.

"Worshipping ancestors is a major event. Naturally, the best offerings must be used to show sincerity."

City Lord Meng's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but not a word came out.

Sincerity?

This sincerity of yours is a bit too much!

All my Meng Family ancestors combined have never seen such a luxurious scene.

He looked at Chen You, his gaze becoming complex.

There was gratitude, admiration, and even a hint of guilt.

An outsider was investing so much for the sake of his Meng Family's affairs.

In contrast, as a descendant of the Meng Family, he had been perfunctory about the ancestral tomb for so many years.

The comparison made the difference in their characters clear.

City Lord Meng took a deep breath, as if he had made a momentous decision.

He slapped his thigh hard, his voice booming.

"Brother Chen, this sentiment of yours... I, City Lord Meng... my Meng Family, we have all felt it!"

"I announce that you will be the chief officiant for this ancestral sacrifice ceremony!"

"You shall be the one to offer the first stick of incense to the ancestors of my Meng Family!"

The calm expression on Chen You's face instantly froze.

"What?"

He suspected he had misheard.

Letting an outsider be the chief officiant for the Meng Family ancestors?

What kind of crazy development is this?

"City Lord Meng, this isn't appropriate." Chen You's mouth twitched. "I'm an outsider."

"Outsider?"

City Lord Meng glared, his voice even louder than before.

"What outsider! Based on this heart of yours, you are more like a filial son and worthy grandson of the Meng Family than I, the Meng De, am!"

Chen You was completely speechless.

Filial son and worthy grandson my ass!

I spent money to trigger a quest, not to become a grandson for your family!

Without waiting for Chen You's reply, City Lord Meng pulled Meng Xiao to his side.

"If you feel like an outsider... then let Xiao Xiao acknowledge you as her foster father!"

"From now on, you are my, City Lord Meng's, brother, and Meng Xiao's father! We are one family!"

Meng Xiao blinked, tilting her head, and was about to open her mouth to call him "Daddy."

Chen You hurriedly spoke up.

"Wait!"

Meng Xiao's mouth was slightly open, but that word didn't come out after all.

"I appreciate the Meng De's kindness."

Chen You refused decisively, his attitude firm.

"But blood relations are paramount when sacrificing to ancestors. If I were to do it, I fear it would be disrespectful to the ancestors and break the rules."

Seeing Chen You's righteous appearance, City Lord Meng felt he understood everything.

Look!

Look at this man's awareness!

He spent so much money and did such a great thing, yet he doesn't covet a single bit of credit!

What nobility!

What high moral character!

City Lord Meng: "I understand."

Chen You's heart skipped a beat.

No, you don't understand.

What strange things have you 'understood' now?

City Lord Meng's expression became excited again as he looked at Chen You with eyes full of admiration.

"Brother Chen, you spent so much money and put in so much effort, yet you ask for no reward!"

"What magnanimity! What a level of enlightenment!"

"I, City Lord Meng, am ashamed to be inferior! My entire Meng Family is ashamed to be inferior!"

Chen You was already numb.

He felt like his brain was about to fail to process City Lord Meng's logical circuits.

Is this guy's brain just a single track? And one made of reinforced concrete at that?

He just wanted to point at City Lord Meng's nose and shout: I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense! I just don't want to kowtow to your ancestors!

He could only force out an unfathomable smile and say slowly.

"City Lord Meng, I've only done some trivial things. Observing the ceremony is enough, observing is enough."

Hearing the words "observing the ceremony," City Lord Meng seemed to have received some sort of instruction and nodded vigorously.

"Good!"

"Since Brother Chen does not wish to take credit and insists on observing the ceremony, then if I, City Lord Meng, were to force it further, I would be ungrateful!"

Chen You let out a long sigh of relief.

He had finally managed to muddle through this.

However, before he could finish exhaling, City Lord Meng's next words nearly made him choke.

City Lord Meng gave a grand wave of his hand and shouted loudly toward the door.

"Men!"

"Pass down my order!"

"Brother Chen is the supreme guest of my Thousand Light City and my Meng Family!"

"Since he does not wish to be the chief officiant and wants to participate as an observer, that is our greatest motivation and honor!"

"Immediately! At once! Raise the specifications of this ancestral sacrifice ceremony to the highest level! No! Raise it beyond the highest!"

"The entire city's honor guard, all of them, mobilize!"

"The ritual vessels and musical instruments stored in the Meng De's Mansion for a hundred years, the ones meant for burial, dig them all out! Clean them and use them!"

"Proclaim to the whole city: block all main roads to the Tomb of Thousand Lights. A guard every hundred steps, a sentry every ten!"

"All City Guard, change into the highest-specification 'Thousand Light Gilded Armor'!"

"By all means! We must use the most top-tier, luxurious, and shocking display that Thousand Light City can provide to welcome Brother Chen's observation!"